Vietnam: Binh Thuan Mineral Industry JSC (KSA) on 26 December 2014 was given the investment certificate to start construction on a 60,000t/yr titanium slag processing plant. The plant, located on 0.11km2 of land in the Thanh Hai Industrial Cluster, plans to produce titanium slag for export to Japan and South Korea, where demand is high.

KSA has been building the infrastructure for the project for four years, from basic design and equipment selection to researching markets and preparing an appraisal for submission to the prime minister. To ensure material input, KSA acquired shares in companies that have existing mines or were already co-operating with existing mines. Thang Hai Industrial Cluster was the first in the country to specialise in titanium processing and is considered Vietnam's first titanium industry hub.

Qatar: At Qatar University a project is being undertaken to make more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly concrete structures. Initiated under the auspices of the Centre for Advanced Materials (CAM), the project aims to partially replace cement with aluminium slags that are currently discarded in landfills.

The project team is led by Nesibe Gozde Ozerkan, assistant professor and assistant researcher at CAM. Omar al-Azzawi, a Masters student in the project team, claimed that using the mix design specified in the research will reduce the concrete final setting time by 48%. It will also, Omar said, reduce the corrosion of the reinforcement steel by more than 50%, which will positively affect the durability of structures.

Because of the expanding properties of aluminium slag, the mixture can be used in building subfloors, blocks and pre-moulded panels. Applying the idea will reduce the cost of concrete, the time needed for it to be cured, pollution caused by cement production and the pollution that results from throwing the dross into the landfill, according to al-Azzawi.

Ozerkan said the project is highly relevant to the realisation of the objectives of Qatar National Vision 2030, since locally-produced aluminium waste, which has very detrimental effect on the environment, was used in the project. As a result, it can be said that the usage of the dross in concrete decreases its detrimental environmental effect. Moreover, the dross has some beneficial effect on concrete properties, providing benefits for local industry.

Vietnam: Yue Da Mining has said that the agreement for the proposed acquisition of a titanium slag business in Vietnam has lapsed as certain conditions were not fulfilled on 31 December 2014 and the long stop date was not further extended. Yue Da Mining believes that the termination will not have any adverse impact on its existing business.

In other news, Wang Lian Chun has been appointed as non-executive director and a chairman of the Yue Da Mining board. Chen Yunhua tendered his resignation as non-executive director and chairman due to retirement. Dong Li Yong also tendered his resignation as non-executive director and vice chairman of the Board due to personal commitment.

South Korea: South Korea's steelmaker POSCO has offloaded its shares in POSFINE Co, a slag powder producer, to a private equity fund for an estimated US$27.5m.

Under the deal, POSCO sold its 69.22% stake in POSFINE to Hahn & Co. The move came two months after POSCO had opened talks with the fund in line with its reorganisation efforts. Hahn & Co also reportedly plans to acquire the remaining shares in POSFINE from Tongyang Cement & Energy Corp, Lafargehalla Cement Corp and SSangyong Cement Industry Co.